This is has nothing to do with directors specifically but basically any manager that has a manager reporting to them.
The other part of it is that this is the 2nd or 3rd wave already. We started with Sr. Managers doing the very same thing to the their M7&M8's. Depending on organization we are already seeing Directors getting rid of Sr. Managers or Sr. Directors getting rid of Directors.
The sh-t always flow in one direction.
What's constant however is that they don't give a sh-t about the employees. Meaningful 1x1s and taking care of the teams with 30+ direct reports? Ha!